Trade unions and political parties oppose privatisation of RINL
Hundreds of employees of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Friday took out a protest rally against the proposed divestment of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of the steel- maker.
The parties, including the ruling YSR Congress, supported the agitation.
The protestors demanded that the Centre withdraw its proposal and save the steel plant as it is one of the biggest and profitablepublic sector undertakings in the state.
The Union Cabinet had cleared the privatisation of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), DIPAM (Department of Investment & Public Asset Management) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted on February 3.
The RINL strategic sale proceeds would be part of the disinvestment target for next fiscal.
The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from disinvestment in 2021-22 fiscal beginning April 1.
“The CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) had, on January 27, 2021, given in-principle approval for 100% strategic disinvestment of the GoI (government of India) shareholding in RINL along with management control by way of privatisation,” Pandey tweeted.
General Secretary of the Steel Employees Congress M Rajasekhar said all the unions are opposing the Centres move and would launch a statewide agitation if the government does not withdraw its decision.
Addressing the gathering,Assistant Secretaryof the CPI, Andhra Pradesh, J
V Satyanarana Murty demandedthat the Centre drop the move of withdrawing its stake in RINL.
He said the plant had increased steel productionfrom 3.4 million tonne to 7.3 million tonne with its own funds and with bank loans reflecting its financial strength.
Hedemanded that the Central government allocate captive iron ore mines to the Vizag Steel to make it profitable.
MVV Satyanarayana, YSRCP Lok Sabha member from Visakhapatnam, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to stop privatising the steel plant which, according to the LS member, is one of the low-cost steel producer in the world and the only integrated steel plant in South.
He said the RINL paid Rs 43,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh and the Centre towards various taxes and dividends so far.
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
